Loretta

That is beautiful. I would never use glue on something this delicate. I would get professional advice on how to wash it.

kd124

I with those who say to get professional help. The link Sparky gave you has some great advice. Perhaps the following will give you some additional help. Before doing anything, please be sure to read the articles about cleaning. The second link is for a museum site and information about asking a question. I'm not sure if they can help but I think it is worth a shot. It is a beautiful quilt. Good luck.

http://antiques.about.com/library/weekly/aa101199.htm

http://nequiltmuseum.org/museum/library_questions.html

skpkatydid

I absolutely adore Redwork. That is definitely a good find. It richly deserves to be preserved for posterity. I can't wait to see it when you get it finished.

sewcrafty

What a treasure!! Boy, did you luck out! I don't know if I would even attempt to wash the quilt. Sometimes the material will just discolor with age. How bad is it? Could spot washing do the trick? If necessary, I probably would make sure that I used a color fastener in the water. Still very risky.

Personally, I would batt and bind and call it good and show if off proudly.

quiltingfan

I would think about hand quilting instead of machine quilting, just a thought. What a beautiful quilt. It looks to be in great shape also.

BarbieQ

What a prize. I wouldn't use "spray glue" only because of the age of the quilt.I'd be afraid to ruin something. I think a cold water wash won't hurt anything because It's be laundered before I'm certain.Good luck let us see to finished work.

Chrys

what a beautiful treasure!

NCMtnHigh

THANKS everyone for your advice. I've decided to cross hatch by machine. I have 2 trigger fingers on right hand, 1 on left ... so I just can't handle much hand quilting.

If I cross hatch in the corners, and then connect with a straight line between them (top to bottom and side to side), then it will give the impression of a soft picture frame around each one. I'll use tread that will blend in with background so it won't detract from the embroidery.
Also, my machine has a "quilting" stitch, and by increasing the length, it will give a softer appearance.

Will hold off laundering until after completed. And no, it's not that bad. Probably some dead bug residue (brown spots). Will post pictures in a few days. Recovering from surgery so have to go at a slower pace now.

Thanks again.... and stay tuned .....

Olivia's Grammy

Can't wait to see it. Now that you have a plan things will go faster. Hope your hands recover quickly.

jljack

Can't wait to see it. I have to add my 2 cents worth...no glue! Also, washing kind of rejuvenates older, stale fabrics. It gets years of dust, debris, etc. out of the fibers, and brightens them back up. Just gentle hand agitating in your washing machine's tub will do it, then you can spin the water out on gentle. All the advice about dye catchers is good. Yes, I would advise quilting this with batting and backing, because as fabric ages, the threads can become weak and start to pull apart. this piece needs to be fully supported by quilting. It is indeed beautiful, and should be displayed to be enjoyed.